Lake Level Too LOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Rose · 09-09-2009, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobalt

The lake has been lowered at a rate approaching and exceeding 1000 cfs over the last few weeks to reach this "normal level".

What is so critical about lowering the level one foot by Labor Day? Maybe, the dam operator or operators, who maintained the lake level at boater friendly levels most of the season, can explain. Would an October 1 date work for the lower level? It certainly would extend the boating season, and help out the local economy.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gifs/peakofseason.gif

Winnipesaukee Divers · 09-09-2009, 07:43 AM

After watching the lake level drop so much in the past couple of weeks, I decided to have my boat pulled a week early this year. I weight 18,000 lbs and draft 5 feet and we have a 30 ton crane at the club which can lift me easily at short distances. When I came into our usual lifting spot I ran a ground about five feet out, the boys at the club struggle and struggled to lift the boat and at one point had the rear outriggers completely off the ground. They had to re-set the crane three times and drag the boat over the bottom until they got it close enough to lift. That was five hours for three men to to get one boat out.

We have been hauling this boat out in the same spot, with the same equipment for ten years now and never had as much trouble as we had yesterday. So, don't tell me the lake is at it's normal depth... Had I known it was going to be this much hassle I would have had it hauled two weeks ago.

BTW: They have two more big boats like mine to get out, but the owner want to stay in a couple more weeks for some fine fall sailing... If we don't get a major storm in the next few weeks it looks like they be wintering over in the lake again this year.

Cobalt · 09-10-2009, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rose

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gifs/peakofseason.gif

Rose,

Thank you for the NOAA chart showing a peak number of storms by Sept 10 for the 100 years period, but how many of these actually impacted the Lakes Region?

While staying at a marina during the mid 90's, I was told by one of the owners that a contract required the release of water from the lake to provide power for hydroelectric generation downstream. This accounted for the lower levels late summer even during drought conditions.

Does anyone know if this is part of the reason for the "normal" low water levels this time of year?

Fishy Cover · 09-10-2009, 07:31 AM

Definitely caused by global warming

LIforrelaxin · 09-10-2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishy Cover

Definitely caused by global warming

Show me proof!!!!!!!!

ITD · 09-10-2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishy Cover

Definitely caused by global warming

"Global Warming" is passe, too cold. You have to call it Climate Change now, it covers all weather.

I for one am happy with the lake at its current height, the past few summers the water has been too high. That, combined with boat wakes has caused much erosion of the shore line and silted up the water.

Rose · 09-10-2009, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobalt

Rose,

Thank you for the NOAA chart showing a peak number of storms by Sept 10 for the 100 years period, but how many of these actually impacted the Lakes Region?

While staying at a marina during the mid 90's, I was told by one of the owners that a contract required the release of water from the lake to provide power for hydroelectric generation downstream. This accounted for the lower levels late summer even during drought conditions.

Does anyone know if this is part of the reason for the "normal" low water levels this time of year?

I couldn't find a list specifically for tropical storms which affected the Lakes Region, but here are the stats I found for New England from 1800 to present:

June - 3
July - 4
Aug - 10
Sept - 18
Oct - 5

No, the numbers aren't huge, but the peak is in late August into September. Perhaps we should be grateful they don't lower the lake sooner.

The lowering of the lake is guided by several factors. Let's give the dam operators the benefit of the doubt that they know what they're doing and acknowledge that it can sometimes be a difficult balancing act.

fatlazyless · 09-10-2009, 11:52 AM

Fo an up-close look at the Lake Winnipesaukee outflow take a drive over to the new Walgreen's. Over in Laconia, the now under construction Walgreen's store & pharmacy has a very nice parking lot out in back. New pavement, granite curbs, grass,,,,good design and construction.....and it fronts for maybe 200' directly on the Winnipesaukee River which is the outflow for Lake Winnipesaukee as it outflows toward Lake Winnisquam.

Gazing into the medium slow moving water yesterday there were some small schools of bait fish and sunfish swimming around, across the grassy, sandy bottom.

Most of the industrial debris like old pipes and concrete blocks have been removed. An ancient 100-year old rotten wood dock which abuts the Walgreen p-lot still remains.

The outflow current looked pretty slow compared to June & July. The Walgreen's Laconia parking lot:: a good spot to drop a fishing line or launch a kayak or fill a prescription. Pssst....keep it quiet!

And, right next door to Walgreen's, directly on the Winnipesaukee River, and sharing the same parking lot is the large and over-flowing Salvation Army second-hand store. You could probably buy an old fishing rod & reel in there for two dollars, walk out the door, and catch either a smallie or a salmon in the Winnipesaukee River.

Will Walgreen's be selling worms?

RI Swamp Yankee · 09-10-2009, 12:43 PM

Maybe this issue should be addressed by members of the "Lake Owners Association" and they can vote on what the lake level should be on a given day. Perhaps there are people that have purchased recently (within the last 10 years) and they were not given due notice as to what level the lake would be at certain times of the year.

9-10-09 Lake Level 503.26 Full Lake 504.32
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis.../graph2009.jpg

...

RI Swamp Yankee · 09-10-2009, 12:47 PM

From Bizer: http://www.bizer.com/bztnews.htm

2009 Actual Deviation Outflow at
Date Height from Norm Lakeport Dam
----- ---- --.-- TEMP ---- ---
07/02 Thu 4.35 + .20 68 1684 CFS
07/09 Thu 4.49 + .40 67 1587 CFS
07/16 Thu 4.15 + .03 70 1331 CFS
07/23 Thu 4.03 +0.00 71 1010 CFS
07/30 Thu 4.33 + .39 72 1020 CFS
08/06 Thu 4.36 + .50 74 1557 CFS
08/13 Thu 4.07 + .23 73 1532 CFS
08/20 Thu 3.70 - .04 77 1085 CFS
08/23 Sun 3.66 - .01 77 1082 CFS
08/30 Sun 3.57 - .03 71 985 CFS
09/03 Thu 3.45 - .09 70 995 CFS
09/10 Thu 3.26 - .17 69 642 CFS

Pineedles · 09-10-2009, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RI Swamp Yankee

Maybe this issue should be addressed by members of the "Lake Owners Association" and they can vote on what the lake level should be on a given day. Perhaps there are people that have purchased recently (within the last 10 years) and they were not given due notice as to what level the lake would be at certain times of the year.

9-10-09 Lake Level 503.26 Full Lake 504.32
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis.../graph2009.jpg

...

A bit of sarcasm in the title but,..... I doubt they would let non-resident owners vote on anything.

RI Swamp Yankee · 09-10-2009, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

A bit of sarcasm in the title but,..... I doubt they would let non-resident owners vote on anything.

Awww ... darn ....

Pineedles · 09-11-2009, 07:15 PM

It is a crying shame, but it is what it is.

travaler18 · 09-11-2009, 08:35 PM

see if this clears things up and gives some a name to complain to.Somehow I dont think they will be to concerned about the boat bottoms.

http://www.broadviewcondos.com/WaterLevel1.htm According to Steve Doyan of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the fall 2001 Lake Winnipesaukee water level has been at the lowest level on record since 1965. Mr. Doyan is the person who is officially responsible for control of the the lake water level.

Control of the Lakeport dam that maintains the lake water level was transferred from PSNH to the state in 1958. Certain covenants require that a constant lake outflow of 250 cubic feet per minute be maintained but maintenance of a certain Lake water level is not part of that covenant. The covenant's mandate is only for maintenance of a sustained outflow.

Certain Broadview owners have had their boats subject to damage due to these extremely low water levels. One boat suffered from a punctured hull while at it's slip and was sunk.

All boat owners are strongly encouraged to monitor lake water levels in an attempt to prevent similar damage.

For more information contact:

click here Steve Doyon
New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
6 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301
603-271-1966
email: sdoyon@des.state.nh.us

TomC · 09-12-2009, 03:48 AM

that site (Broadview) was last updated 7 years ago and the most recent data on the graph is from 2001. At this time, the lake is not at the lowest level since 1965... In fact, again, the level is normal for this time of year.

trfour · 09-12-2009, 03:18 PM

the guy that took his town to court for building the sidewalks too close to his butt.

He didn't win either!

travaler18 · 09-12-2009, 04:07 PM

[QUOTE=TomC;105972]that site (Broadview) was last updated 7 years ago and the most recent data on the graph is from 2001. At this time, the lake is not at the lowest level since 1965... In fact, again, the level is normal for this time of year.[/QUOTE I agree TomC ,The levels are around normal as per historical data,but there are discrepancies,I too have seen the weirs channel ruler and it showed the water down at least a foot and a half unless I saw it wrong,but , The info I was trying to emphisize was the fact that water levels are controled for higher purposes then boating enjoyment and shoreline property inconveniances.Below is the paragragh I was referring to.
Control of the Lakeport dam that maintains the lake water level was transferred from PSNH to the state in 1958. Certain covenants require that a constant lake outflow of 250 cubic feet per minute be maintained but maintenance of a certain Lake water level is not part of that covenant. The covenant's mandate is only for maintenance of a sustained outflow.

09-09-2009, 07:43 AM	#2
Winnipesaukee Divers Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Exeter, NH or @ WCYC on weekends Posts: 250 Thanks: 7 Thanked 46 Times in 28 Posts	Just how low is it?? After watching the lake level drop so much in the past couple of weeks, I decided to have my boat pulled a week early this year. I weight 18,000 lbs and draft 5 feet and we have a 30 ton crane at the club which can lift me easily at short distances. When I came into our usual lifting spot I ran a ground about five feet out, the boys at the club struggle and struggled to lift the boat and at one point had the rear outriggers completely off the ground. They had to re-set the crane three times and drag the boat over the bottom until they got it close enough to lift. That was five hours for three men to to get one boat out. We have been hauling this boat out in the same spot, with the same equipment for ten years now and never had as much trouble as we had yesterday. So, don't tell me the lake is at it's normal depth... Had I known it was going to be this much hassle I would have had it hauled two weeks ago. BTW: They have two more big boats like mine to get out, but the owner want to stay in a couple more weeks for some fine fall sailing... If we don't get a major storm in the next few weeks it looks like they be wintering over in the lake again this year.

09-10-2009, 07:31 AM	#4
Fishy Cover Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 134 Thanks: 10 Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts	Global Warming Definitely caused by global warming

09-10-2009, 12:43 PM	#9
RI Swamp Yankee Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: North Kingstown RI Posts: 688 Thanks: 143 Thanked 83 Times in 55 Posts	Maybe this issue should be addressed by members of the "Lake Owners Association" and they can vote on what the lake level should be on a given day. Perhaps there are people that have purchased recently (within the last 10 years) and they were not given due notice as to what level the lake would be at certain times of the year. 9-10-09 Lake Level 503.26 Full Lake 504.32 http://des.nh.gov/organization/divis.../graph2009.jpg ... __________________ Gene ~ aka "another RI Swamp Yankee"

09-10-2009, 12:47 PM	#10
RI Swamp Yankee Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: North Kingstown RI Posts: 688 Thanks: 143 Thanked 83 Times in 55 Posts	From Bizer: http://www.bizer.com/bztnews.htm 2009 Actual Deviation Outflow at Date Height from Norm Lakeport Dam ----- ---- --.-- TEMP ---- --- 07/02 Thu 4.35 + .20 68 1684 CFS 07/09 Thu 4.49 + .40 67 1587 CFS 07/16 Thu 4.15 + .03 70 1331 CFS 07/23 Thu 4.03 +0.00 71 1010 CFS 07/30 Thu 4.33 + .39 72 1020 CFS 08/06 Thu 4.36 + .50 74 1557 CFS 08/13 Thu 4.07 + .23 73 1532 CFS 08/20 Thu 3.70 - .04 77 1085 CFS 08/23 Sun 3.66 - .01 77 1082 CFS 08/30 Sun 3.57 - .03 71 985 CFS 09/03 Thu 3.45 - .09 70 995 CFS 09/10 Thu 3.26 - .17 69 642 CFS __________________ Gene ~ aka "another RI Swamp Yankee"

09-11-2009, 07:15 PM	#13
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,549 Thanks: 1,074 Thanked 672 Times in 369 Posts	No vote It is a crying shame, but it is what it is.

09-10-2009, 11:52 AM	#8
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,855 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 303 Thanked 1,038 Times in 757 Posts	Fo an up-close look at the Lake Winnipesaukee outflow take a drive over to the new Walgreen's. Over in Laconia, the now under construction Walgreen's store & pharmacy has a very nice parking lot out in back. New pavement, granite curbs, grass,,,,good design and construction.....and it fronts for maybe 200' directly on the Winnipesaukee River which is the outflow for Lake Winnipesaukee as it outflows toward Lake Winnisquam. Gazing into the medium slow moving water yesterday there were some small schools of bait fish and sunfish swimming around, across the grassy, sandy bottom. Most of the industrial debris like old pipes and concrete blocks have been removed. An ancient 100-year old rotten wood dock which abuts the Walgreen p-lot still remains. The outflow current looked pretty slow compared to June & July. The Walgreen's Laconia parking lot:: a good spot to drop a fishing line or launch a kayak or fill a prescription. Pssst....keep it quiet! And, right next door to Walgreen's, directly on the Winnipesaukee River, and sharing the same parking lot is the large and over-flowing Salvation Army second-hand store. You could probably buy an old fishing rod & reel in there for two dollars, walk out the door, and catch either a smallie or a salmon in the Winnipesaukee River. Will Walgreen's be selling worms?

09-11-2009, 08:35 PM	#14
travaler18 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 31 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	answer to lake levels see if this clears things up and gives some a name to complain to.Somehow I dont think they will be to concerned about the boat bottoms. http://www.broadviewcondos.com/WaterLevel1.htm According to Steve Doyan of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the fall 2001 Lake Winnipesaukee water level has been at the lowest level on record since 1965. Mr. Doyan is the person who is officially responsible for control of the the lake water level. Control of the Lakeport dam that maintains the lake water level was transferred from PSNH to the state in 1958. Certain covenants require that a constant lake outflow of 250 cubic feet per minute be maintained but maintenance of a certain Lake water level is not part of that covenant. The covenant's mandate is only for maintenance of a sustained outflow. Certain Broadview owners have had their boats subject to damage due to these extremely low water levels. One boat suffered from a punctured hull while at it's slip and was sunk. All boat owners are strongly encouraged to monitor lake water levels in an attempt to prevent similar damage. For more information contact: click here Steve Doyon New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services 6 Hazen Drive Concord, NH 03301 603-271-1966 email: sdoyon@des.state.nh.us

09-12-2009, 03:48 AM	#15
TomC Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 730 Thanks: 27 Thanked 123 Times in 80 Posts	2002? that site (Broadview) was last updated 7 years ago and the most recent data on the graph is from 2001. At this time, the lake is not at the lowest level since 1965... In fact, again, the level is normal for this time of year.

09-12-2009, 03:18 PM	#16
trfour Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lakes, Central NH. and Dallas/Fort Worth TX. Posts: 3,694 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 3,069 Thanked 472 Times in 236 Posts	... Reminds Me About.... the guy that took his town to court for building the sidewalks too close to his butt. He didn't win either! __________________ *trfour* Always Remember, The Best Safety Device In The Boat, or on a PWC Snowmobile etc., Is YOU! Safe sledding tips and much more; http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html

09-12-2009, 04:07 PM	#17
travaler18 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 31 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	clearing up my piont [QUOTE=TomC;105972]that site (Broadview) was last updated 7 years ago and the most recent data on the graph is from 2001. At this time, the lake is not at the lowest level since 1965... In fact, again, the level is normal for this time of year.[/QUOTE I agree TomC ,The levels are around normal as per historical data,but there are discrepancies,I too have seen the weirs channel ruler and it showed the water down at least a foot and a half unless I saw it wrong,but , The info I was trying to emphisize was the fact that water levels are controled for higher purposes then boating enjoyment and shoreline property inconveniances.Below is the paragragh I was referring to. Control of the Lakeport dam that maintains the lake water level was transferred from PSNH to the state in 1958. Certain covenants require that a constant lake outflow of 250 cubic feet per minute be maintained but maintenance of a certain Lake water level is not part of that covenant. The covenant's mandate is only for maintenance of a sustained outflow.